Posts from ‘August, 2015’

In this week’s Oilgram News column, Regulation and Environment, Gary Gentile asks if the risks associated with ultra-deepwater oil production endeavors are properly disclosed to shareholders.

By Gary Gentile | August 31, 2015

Opponents of offshore drilling in frontier environments, such as the Arctic, have opened up a new front in their effort to curtail such efforts — asking US financial regulators to require more robust disclosure of the risks involved.

A group of Democrats in the US Congress have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to force companies to tell investors the cost of a catastrophic accident resulting from drilling in ultra-deepwaters or in the harsh and remote waters off the coast of Alaska.read more

Shell is betting on finding the oil industry’s Holy Grail: according to 2008 estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic contains more than 20 percent of the world’s remaining hydrocarbon resources—including at least 90 billion barrels of oil.

If Shell does strike oil in big quantities maybe its gamble will pay off—and its anxious shareholders can look forward to handsome payouts.

President Barack Obama is set to become the first serving U.S. president to witness firsthand the impact of global warming in Alaska’s Arctic Circle when he visits the state this week to press for urgent action against climate change. But many activists have charged him with hypocrisy following his administration’s recent decision to formalize Royal Dutch Shell’s permit to drill for oil off Alaska’s northwest coast. Protests against the administration’s policies are planned Monday in Anchorage, Seattle and Portland.read more

Thousands of Pacific walrus are coming ashore on the northwest Arctic coast of Alaska, repeating a migratory change for the walrus which U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have called a clear effect of loss of Arctic Ocean sea ice on which the animals rely. As the walrus swim south from the preferred but now ice-free feeding ground, Hanna Shoal in the Chukchi Sea, many are passing close enough to the flotilla of Shell Oil ships on its drill site to be seen from the ships.read more

As the giant Shell oil company begins highly controversial and risky exploration drilling in the Arctic, the price of crude continues to slide. Kieran Cooke from Climate News Network reports: 31 August 2015

It’s a gamble — some would say a giant gamble. Before even one litre of oil has been found, the Anglo-Dutch Shell group is believed to have spent more than US$7 billion just making preparations for its latest Arctic venture.

Shell is betting on finding the oil industry’s Holy Grail: according to 2008 estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic contains more than 20 per cent of the world’s remaining hydrocarbon resources — including at least 90 billion barrels of oil.read more

WASHINGTON — President Obama will travel to Alaska on Monday to call for urgent and aggressive action to tackle climate change, capitalizing on a poignant tableau of melting glaciers, crumbling permafrost and rising sea levels to illustrate the immediacy of an issue he hopes to make a central element of his legacy.

But during a three-day trip choreographed to lend spectacular visuals and real-world examples to Mr. Obama’s message on global warming, he will pay little heed to the oil and gas drilling offshore that he allowed to go forward just this month, a move that activists say is an unsavory blot on an otherwise ambitious climate record.read more

“The company’s repeated failures in basic readiness tests show that when things go wrong in the Arctic ocean, it will be a disaster…”

WASHINGTON — Newly released documents reveal the extent of problems with anti-pollution equipment on a Shell-contracted Arctic drillship earlier this year.

The records, provided by the U.S. Coast Guard in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, also describe a botched fire drill by the crew of another Shell-contracted drilling rig months before it began boring an exploratory oil well in the Chukchi Sea.

That rig, the Transocean Polar Pioneer, was moored in Seattle and being prepared for its Arctic mission in May, when the Coast Guard conducted an initial inspection and two emergency drills onboard.read more

Sources: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, IBRU at Durham University, Bordermap Consulting, KlimaCampus Integrated Climate Data Center, U.S. Geological Survey: By The New York Times

ABOARD COAST GUARD CUTTER ALEX HALEY, in the Chukchi Sea — With warming seas creating new opportunities at the top of the world, nations are scrambling over the Arctic — its territorial waters, transit routes and especially its natural resources — in a rivalry some already call a new Cold War.read more

President Obama redirected attention from his decision to allow Shell to drill a well off the Alaskan coast to the “imminent danger” of climate change in his weekly address Saturday. Ahead of a three-day tour of Alaska, Obama said the northern state’s melting glaciers, swift shoreline erosion and rising sea levels threaten to “swallow one island community.”

“Think about that,” Obama said. “If another country threatened to wipe out an American town, we’d do everything in our power to protect ourselves. Climate change poses the same threat, right now.”read more

Mr van Beurden – who ill-advisedly said the deal only really sings once the oil price recovers to $90 a barrel – would be unwise to count on it. He’s on the hook for a £750m break fee if he pulls out, a pay-out he’d be hard pressed to survive.

It would be wrong to say City investors are on the point of insurrection over Royal Dutch Shell’s blockbuster takeover bid for BG Group. Most big investors in Shell will also be major shareholders in BG, so if the stock and cash offer goes through, what they lose on the Shell roundabout they will gain on the BG swings.

None the less, it is ever more obvious Shell’s Ben van Beurden is overpaying for BG, as reflected in the fact that BG shares languish at a whopping great discount to the see-through value of Shell’s offer – 981p per share against 1134p.read more

Critics argue that allowing Shell to explore Arctic for oil goes against the country’s stance on climate change

President Obama has defended his decision to grant approval for drilling in the Arctic region, ahead of his trip to Alaska. Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) had been seeking the US government’s permission to conduct oil exploration in offshore Arctic. Last month, Shell was granted permission to drill a well off the coast of Alaska. The decision has been criticized heavily, as environmentalists have been quick to point out the risks associated with drilling in the Arctic.

President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, announced earlier this month, has also come in the line of fire. The plan, which calls for a 32% reduction in carbon emissions from power plants in the US, is aimed at reducing the country’s carbon footprint, as the US tries to lead the charge in the battle against climate change. Critics argue that allowing Shell to explore Arctic for oil goes against the country’s stance on climate change.read more

“We made it clear that Shell has to meet our high standards in how they conduct their operations – and it’s a testament to how rigorous we’ve applied those standards that Shell has delayed and limited its exploration off Alaska while trying to meet them.”

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama Saturday (Aug. 29 pressed the case for urgent action to combat climate change, while defending his administration from criticism by environmental critics unhappy with its approval of Shell’s plan to drill off Alaska’s coast.

“I share people’s concerns about offshore drilling. I remember the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico all too well,” Obama said in his weekly radio address.

“That’s precisely why my administration has worked to make sure that our oil exploration conducted under these leases is done at the highest standards possible, with requirements specifically tailored to the risks of drilling off Alaska,” the president said. “We don’t rubber-stamp permits. We made it clear that Shell has to meet our high standards in how they conduct their operations – and it’s a testament to how rigorous we’ve applied those standards that Shell has delayed and limited its exploration off Alaska while trying to meet them.”read more

Shell Canada Limited is applying to bring offshore drilling to Nova Scotia’s waters. But environmentalists are raising alarm bells over potential conflict of interest, as the group reviewing Shell’s application — the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) — includes a board member who worked at Shell Canada and Royal Dutch Shell for 30 years.

The federal Privy Council Office re-appointed Douglas Gregory as an alternate board member in March, 2014.

Gregory’s background includes work as an exploration geophysicist in Canada; and in 1999 opening Shell Canada’s exploration office, focused on deep water seismic exploration within Nova Scotia’s waters.read more

Despite a U.K. newspaper’s suggestion of a conflict of interest in the Shell offshore drilling proposal approval process, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board says it’s confident the steps it takes to eliminate any conflicts or unethical dealings neutralizes any concerns.

The Guardian reported Wednesday about a potential conflict of interest involving a board member, Douglas Gregory, and the Shell proposal now under review.

Before retiring in 2003, Gregory worked more than 30 years for Shell Canada and Royal Dutch Shell, and opened Shell’s Halifax exploration office. In 2008, the federal Conservative government appointed him to the board.read more

Two days before heading to Alaska to raise climate change awareness, US President Barack Obama on Saturday defended his controversial decision to allow Shell to drill in the Arctic’s Chukchi Sea.

The Obama administration’s green light for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant angered environmental groups which have decried the “hypocrisy” of the president, who in recent months has stressed the need for aggressive actions against climate change.

Opponents note how the decision comes in the run-up to the UN climate conference in Paris in December. The meeting is seen as crucial in efforts to forge an agreement to curb international emissions.read more

“The trend is strong and down… do not be wrong-footed by a correction higher…”

Aug 28, 2015: Brent in biggest one-day surge since December 2008 as pipelines closed down

Oil prices are continuing to rise after the market posted its biggest one-day surge for close to seven years, a recovery that comes off the back of a sharp decline earlier this week.

The Financial Times reports the international benchmark Brent crude jumped by more than 10 per cent, or $4.42, to settle at $47.56 a barrel on Thursday. On Friday morning it had fallen slightly in early trading and was hovering around $47.

This recovery had followed several days in which a renewed slump, which set in earlier in the summer, gathered pace. Prices hit a post-financial crisis low of close to $42 a barrel on Tuesday. Even now Brent is only back to where it was a week ago and at a level that remains punishing for producers in many regions. US crude settled at $42.86, another week-long high but relative low.read more

Royal Dutch Shell plc’s (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) drilling in Canada will be coming in for resistance, as reported by the Guardian. The drilling plan in Nova Scotia’s southern shore has been approved by the country’s Environment Minister and is under the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board’s review.

The Canadian Environment Ministry has been criticized for not for reviewing strategic projects properly and for disregarding public opinion. People are not happy with Environment Minister’s decision to allow 21 days to cap any oil spill, when in the US, only 24 hours are allowed.read more

Posting on our Shell Blog by a Long Term Regular Contributor, “LondonLad,” a retired Shell Executive: Aug 28th, 2015

Greenpeace is the largest environmental organization in the world, with an international membership of over 3 million and offices in over 40 countries. Forbes magazine once described it as “a skillfully managed business” with full command of “the tools of direct mail and image manipulation — and tactics that would bring instant condemnation if practiced by a for-profit corporation.” But Greenpeace has escaped public censure by hiding behind the mask of its “non-profit” status and its U.S. tax exemption. In other countries, however, Greenpeace has not been as lucky: Both Canada and New Zealand have revoked the organization’s non-profit status, noting that the group’s overly politicized agenda no longer has any “public benefit.”read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Aug 28, 2015

By DAN JOLING Associated Press

Strong winds and high waves that pounded the northern coast of Alaska have led Royal Dutch Shell PLC to temporarily stop exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

“Due to high wind and sea states, we have paused all critical operations in the Chukchi Sea,” said spokesman Curtis Smith in an email response to questions.

The eastern Chukchi Sea this week experienced gale-force winds in the range of 39 to 54 p.m., said Ed Townsend, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. Winds at Point Lay on Alaska’s northwest coast about 9 a.m. Friday blew steadily at 29 mph with gusts to 37 mph.read more

On Thursday, August 27, Royal Dutch Shell plc’s (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) Nigerian unit closed down its two crude pipeline and declared “force majeure” on export of Bonny Light crude, as reported by Reuters.

The Hague-based company closed the Trans Niger Pipeline at Oloma because of a leakage in the pipeline. The company closed down its Nembe Creek Trunkline to stop theft and vandalism of crude oil in the vicinity. Furthermore, the company is working on the maintenance of the pipeline. However, it did not state any timeline for restarting its operation.read more

Environmental activists Greenpeace placed a giant banana peel on the roof oil company Shell’s office in Amsterdam on Friday morning. This giant banana peel is another protest against the company’s oil drilling in the Arctic. “Shell is going bananas and the world needs to know.”

“North Pole oil is a risk we can not accept. Yet Shell is rushing like a madman on oil stocks on the edge of the retreating arctic ice. With a 75% chance of an oil spill. Today campaigners are putting the spotlight on this madness”, the environmental activists write on their website.read more

I discuss the possibility of a dividend cut and what I see as likely happening.

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) has been crushed in the last three months, and of course, over the last year since oil began its selloff. At the time of this writing oil is rebounding back above $40, but I wanted to address something very important about the stock. Its dividend. I recommended it in several articles, and explained the differences between the two types of shares. Through dividend compounding, this stock belongs in your portfolio, particularly a tax advantaged retirement account. But there has been whispers of fear that because of the oil slump, profits will be decimated and as such the dividends are in jeopardy. While the threat to profits is real, the concerns over the dividend are far overblown. I strongly believe that the dividend is more than safe. And at a 7.6% yield, you should be buying hand over fist at these levels and lower.read more

Huge, wind-whipped waves crashed onto the shore at Barrow on Thursday, forcing the closure of a nearby road, the National Weather Service reported. Westerly winds were gusting up to 50 miles an hour, pushing waves up to the top of the beach and causing some erosion, the National Weather Service said.

A National Weather Service employee in Barrow captured still images and video of the high waves and flooding.

News of Tory-appointed official follows on Environment Minister granting Shell up to 21 days to stop underwater oil spills. In contrast the United States requires Shell to have capping equipment on-site in Alaska within 24 hours.read more

Shell E&P Ireland has urged the Department of Energy to ensure “prompt processing” of its application to operate the Corrib gas pipeline, as it says that “all of the elements of the Corrib gas field are in an advanced state of readiness”.

The company has submitted an application to the department for permission to operate the 91 kilometre-long high pressure pipeline in north Mayo under section 40 of the Gas Acts. Details of the application were not available on the department’s website on Wednesday.read more

…the growing gap between the offer value and the market value indicates increasing investor anxiety over the merger, thus markets are beginning to question the deal’s prospects of success…

BG Group Plc’s (LON:BG) share price is sliding further away from the proposed offer by larger London-listed energy peer Royal Dutch Shell, signalling fading investor confidence that the deal will complete as planned, the Financial Times reported earlier this week.

BG’s share price had slipped 1.38 percent to 947.30p as of 14:01 BST today, underperforming the FTSE 100 which was flat. This compares with Shell’s proposed price of about 1,106p (383p in cash plus 0.4454 Shell B shares per BG share), equating to a discount of about 14.4 percent. At one point on ‘Black Monday’, traders cited by FT said that the spread widened to as much as 17 percent.read more

Oil’s slump has been brutal. More than half a trillion dollars of value has been wiped from the five biggest international oil companies — Exxon, Shell, Chevron, Total and BP — since mid-June last year.

Shares of the largest oil companies have slumped so low it suggests investors expect the crash in crude prices to force cuts in dividends. History tells a different story.

Oil’s collapse has driven the annual dividend yield at Royal Dutch Shell Plc to at least a 20-year high of 7.7 percent this week, compared with 4.4 percent for the benchmark FTSE 100 Index. The yield — the annual return divided by the share price — is also at a two-decade high at Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.read more

Shell is keeping a tight lid on information about its Chukchi Sea drilling for now.

The semi-submersible Polar Explorer is at work drilling the first well in Shell’s 2015 program, Burger J, and a weekly report issued Aug. 25 by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, indicated that a shallow casing string has been installed and cemented into place on the well.

This is an initial “string” of casing that is typically installed once the “mud-line cellar” excavation is completed, a step Shell reported earlier. “Casing” refers to heavy steel pipe installed in the well through which the actual drilling tools are operated and drilling “mud,” or fluid, is circulated to keep up pressures at the bottom and to remove rock cuttings from drilling.read more

Among individual oil producers, the biggest on the market is Royal Dutch Shell, and its share price has unsurprisingly performed terribly in the last year. The shares have fallen 36 per cent since last August…

Shares in energy companies have plummeted – should investors be buying?

OIL PRICES have fallen to their lowest levels since the financial crisis. The price of Brent crude went down to $42 a barrel earlier this week, before recovering a little.

The news is shocking because, when oil prices were first slashed from over $100 a barrel to around $50 last June – due to the fact that there is so much being pumped out of the ground and not enough industrial demand in the world to use it all – people thought it would be temporary. read more

LONDON (ShareCast) – (ShareCast News) – A global stock market sell-off and tumbling oil prices have increased fears that some of this year’s largest takeover deals are at risk of falling apart – including Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE – news) ‘s $70bn bid for UK rival BG Group (LSE: BG.L – news) . Over the past week, the gap between the agreed price of several takeovers and the market price of the target companies’ shares has widened, as funds that specialise in profiting from these situations have taken fright.read more

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) doesn’t need an introduction. This Anglo-Dutch multinational is one of the largest, integrated oil & gas majors in the world. Its share price has dropped nearly a quarter since the start of the year, pushing its dividend yield ever higher. While commonly regarded by many DGI investors as lesser quality than Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), I believe the current market situation highly favors including this stock in the energy component of your dividend portfolio.read more

Royal Dutch Shell plc. (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) earlier this year finalized its $70 billion merger deal with BG Group plc. (ADR) (NYSE:BRGYY). The cash-and-stock deal valued BG at $20 per share. Shell, based on BG’s stock price on April 7, agreed on paying a 50% premium. However, as yesterday’s sell-off and grim crude oil prices are factored into the mix, it appears that the deal, among many others, may fall apart.

BG stock slipped 6.78% to close Monday’s trading session at $14.71 per share. The spread for the deal reached its highest level on Monday. Shell looks forward to acquiring BG’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) assets. The company is also interested in the acquisition so as to take advantage of the opportunity to enter new markets.read more

With oil prices plummeting due to global oversupply, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) would be unable to stabilise the market on its own, Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah told The Telegraph on Monday. The group – which is mainly comprised of Middle Eastern and South American oil producers – would need agreement from other oil-producing nations.read more

A global stock market sell-off and tumbling oil prices have increased fears that some of this year’s largest takeover deals are at risk of falling apart — including Royal Dutch Shell’s $70bn bid for UK rival BG Group.

Aug 24 Royal Dutch Shell will repay a $2 billion debt to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) when sanctions on Iran are lifted and will consider investing in the country’s vast energy sector, Shell’s boss for new business said.

Much would depend on the terms offered by the Islamic Republic once sanctions were lifted, said Edward Daniels, Shell’s executive vice-president for commercial and new business development. He was speaking to Reuters while on a British government visit to reopen the country’s embassy in Tehran.read more

In the case of Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s agreement to buy BG Group PLC, the year’s largest announced deal, the spread widened to 13.7% Friday from 11.4% a week earlier. That is the widest since the deal was announced in April, as investors fret over the possibility that plummeting oil prices could cause Shell to walk away.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell to less than $40 a barrel for the first time in more than six years in New York trading on Friday.

Iran plans to raise oil production “at any cost” to defend the country’s market share and joins calls for an emergency OPEC meeting to help shore up crude prices.

“We will be raising our oil production at any cost and we have no other alternative,” said Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, according to his ministry’s news website Shana. “If Iran’s oil production hike is not done promptly, we will be losing our market share permanently.”

Iran had the second-biggest output in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries before U.S.-led sanctions banning the purchase, transport, finance and insuring of its crude began July 2012. Oil producers such as BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have expressed interest in developing its reserves, the world’s fourth-biggest, once sanctions are removed.read more

Based on current forecasts, the prospective yield in 2016 for BP is about 6.9pc and for Shell it stands at 6.7pc. These unusually high yields are often an indicator of an impending cut in the payout.read more

Shell has begun the final stage of its $7 billion attempt to drill for oil in Alaska’s remote Chukchi Sea.

Despite tumbling oil prices and opposition from Hillary Clinton and conservationists, this weekend a steel drill bit was grinding its way through rocks deep beneath the icy waves.

Shell, which was granted final permission to begin drilling by US officials on Monday, believes the oil bearing rocks could hold up to 29 billion barrels — enough to supply half of Amerca’s needs for a decade.read more

Her performance is part of a month-long protest that Greenpeace is staging, with different groups – from brass bands to bagpipes – playing the same four-piece movement every day during August to highlight Shell’s Arctic venture. The project was inspired by the string quartet on the Titanic, who continued to play as the ship went down after striking an iceberg.

Church said the campaign had struck a chord “because of how unbelievably dumb [drilling in the Arctic] is. It’s exploitative and nonsensical. The reason they can get to this oil is because the Arctic ice is already melting to a degree, but they’re going to drill more and make it worse … if there is some sort of spill they won’t be able to deal with it or clean it up.”read more

This is not the first time a fire broke out at Pulau Bukom. In September 2011, more than 100 firefighters helped to put out a fire that raged for 32 hours at the Pulau Bukom refinery. Shell was fined $80,000 the following year for lapses in workplace safety that led to the fire.

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Ben van Beurden Breaking News

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500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR WEBSITES

See our link list of 477 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of 64 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website ownerHead-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.

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This is not a Shell website, nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell.
There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations.

SHELL PRELUDE TO DISASTER

The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.

NAZI NAMED SHIP HIRED BY SHELL

The campaign waged on this website by John Donovan to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte - which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS - has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name - Pioneering Spirit.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL EMPLOYEE DATA BREACH

GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE: FEBRUARY 2010
MORE INFORMATION: Contact details for over 176,000 employees and contractors of Royal Dutch Shell reached John Donovan and some environmental and human rights groups, ostensibly from disaffected Shell staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, contained names and telephone numbers for all the company’s work force worldwide, including some home numbers. It was supplied with a 170­ page covering note, explaining that it was being circulated by “116 concerned employees of Shell dispersed throughout the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands”, to highlight the harm done by the company’s operations in Nigeria. John Donovan brought the leak to the attention of Shell. Tests proved that the data was authentic and he destroyed the database after being informed by Mr. Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, that the confidential information if publicly disclosed, could put Shell employees and contractors in real danger.

SHELL’S ROLE IN NIGERIAN OPL 245 BRIBERY SCANDAL

Whatever fig leaves they might be trying to use to hide the truth, Shell and Eni paid over $1bn to a company called Malabu for the OPL 245 licence. Even though the payment was channelled through the Nigerian government, it was clear that Shell knew that the ultimate beneficiary was Dan Etete, the former minister of petroleum. Etete is the owner of Malabu, to whom he awarded the licence when he was Nigerian Minister of Petroleum.

SHELL PERSECUTION OF DR JOHN HUONG

SHELL SAKHALIN2 DEBACLE

NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.

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Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, that funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell's Nazi connections can be found in extracts from "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives. There are 67 pages in total, so takes some time to download.

Photograph (full size here) shows a Swastika flag flying at the head office of Royal Dutch Petroleum, 30 Carel van Bylandtlaan, The Hague, during the Nazi occupation of the in World War II (From Image Database Hague Municipal)

Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group - known as "The Most Powerful Man in the World" - who became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party.

SHELL ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS

SHELL IP PIRACY

Reading between the lines in various legal documents, it seems that the allegations are that after the technology in question had been disclosed to a Shell company in the USA, the information was passed to Shell in the Netherlands in breach of confidentiality. And Royal Dutch Shell subsequently exploited the technology without payment or credit to the company holding the rights; Newton Research Partners. The inference seems to be that Twister B.V. was founded by Shell partly on trade secrets stolen from Bloom/Newton.

WEBSITE INFORMATION

DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Originally co-founded by the late Alfred Donovan and his son John, it is now operated by John, Shell's "No.1 Enemy", aided by an expert team, with invaluable support from retired Shell senior executives and officials as guest contributors and leaked information from Shell insiders.(JOHN DONOVAN, WEBSITE OWNER)For nearly a decade, we have operated globally under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, an approach from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. Prospect magazine has aptly described this website as being:"An open wound for Shell":WIPO proceedings by Shell to seize the domain name failed.NO SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES: All of our watchdog activities monitoring Royal Dutch Shell, including operating this website, are carried out on a non-profit basis. Any advertising revenues generated are used to recover and/or defray operational costs. We are a news aggregator and original content website. All information is available free for educational and research purposes. SHELL TACIT ENDORSEMENT: WHAT A WELL INFORMED SHELL OFFICIAL SAID ABOUT US:
"John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass,belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out."
WARNING TO SHELL EMPLOYEES: Shell Global Affairs Security "CAS") is spying on Shell employees globally trying to trace who is visiting, posting, or leaking information to this website from Shell premises. Threats, including death threats, have allegedly been made against conscience driven Shell whistleblowers supplying us with information. The worlds biggest leak of employee details as part of a claimed corporate revolution by 116 Shell employees, suggest the espionage operation, threats and draconian litigation have not been entirely successful in cutting off the supply of information to this website. The insider leaks had already cost Shell billions on the Sakhalin Energy project and the loss of SEIC Deputy Chairman, David Greer.We publish our own carefully researched articles about Shell e.g. "How Royal Dutch Shell saved Hitler and the Nazi Party".MEDIA COVERAGE: Prospect Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian, have all published major articles about us: "Rise of the Gripe Site";"Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell' and "92-year-old's website leaves oil giant Shell-shocked”. SHELL PETROL STATION images displayed in the website header panel are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Information on copyright issues here.
John Donovan can be contacted at [email protected]

SHELL’S $500,000 WEDDING GIFT TO CORRUPT BRUNEI ROYAL FAMILY

EXTRACT FROM ASIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE IN LIST OF LINKS BELOW: "Fireworks will light up the sky for three nights. The local unit of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has donated 500,000 Brunei dollars (US$292,400; euro 243,700) for the display, and for cultural events to be hosted by popular performers from Malaysia."

BILL CAMPBELL WHISTLEBLOWER EMAIL TO MP’S

IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS:

THIS IS WHAT IT SAID:

Subject: This could be the most important whistleblower email you have ever received.

Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake.

My name is Bill Campbell. I am a former Group Auditor of Shell International. I am writing to you on a matter of conscience in an effort to avert the inevitability of another major accident in the North Sea. The consequences could potentially impact on families in many constituencies, including your own.

As Royal Dutch Shell and the Health & Safety Executive would acknowledge, I am an expert on safety matters relating to offshore oil and gas platforms. In 1999, I was appointed by Shell to lead a safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform. The audit revealed a platform management culture that basically gave a higher priority to production than the safety of Shell employees. To our astonishment we discovered that a "Touch F*** All" policy was in place. Worse still, safety records were routinely falsified and repairs bodged.

I personally brought the shocking situation to the attention of senior management including Malcolm Brinded, the then Managing Director of Shell Exploration & Production. I revealed that ESDV leak-off tests were purposely falsified, not once but many times and that Brent Bravo platform management had admitted responsibility for the dangerous practices being followed. In response to my team ringing alarm bells, management pledged to rectify the serious problems which had been uncovered.

When I later complained that the pledges were not being kept, I was removed from my oversight function.

Four years later, a massive gas leak occurred on the platform. Two workers lost their lives. I have no doubt at all that the inaction of the relevant Asset Manager, the General Manager, the Oil Director and Malcolm Brinded, contributed in some part to the unlawful killing of two persons on Brent Bravo in September 2003.

Shell subsequently pleaded guilty to breaches of the HSE regulations and a record-breaking £900,000 fine was imposed. I thought this would bring about a real change in policy to put the emphasis on safety.

Unfortunately I was wrong. Although I supplied the evidence related to 1999, and the fact that there had been a collapse in controls of integrity from 1999 to 2003 on all 16 of Shell's North Sea offshore installations covered in a post fatality integrity review to the HSE for review by the Procurator Fiscal, none of this evidence was presented before the Sheriff at the subsequent Inquiry. The situation is explained in a letter to the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff (on 24th February 2007).

Shell management has engaged in spin to try to pretend that it is getting to grips with its safety problem. However, its atrocious safety record - the worst in the North Sea in terms of accidental deaths and absolute number of enforcement actions – tells a different story. This fact has resulted in a number of newspaper articles.

I have had meetings with senior Shell people including its CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer. I regret to say that I have found him to be economical with the truth. He prefers to support cover-up and deceit rather than confronting the underlying problems. Brinded is now Executive Director of Shell Exploration & Production. He believes in burying evidence.

My family and friends would probably prefer me to give up on this matter and enjoy my retirement after so many years working for Shell.

However, by writing to every MP in the UK, no one can ever say that I did not do my best to avert an inevitable further major accident event in the North Sea. When it happens (I pray that I am wrong) I will make this warning communication available to the media together with the vast amount of evidence in my possession.

At least my conscience is clear. I have done everything possible to ring the alarm bells about Shell management and its unscrupulous attitude to the safety of its employees.

Yours sincerely
Bill Campbell

ENDS

(Malcolm Brinded and Jeroen van der Veer are no longer with Shell. The Oil Director referred to in the email is Chris Finlayson, who left Shell to become Chief Executive of British Gas before being fired - his photo immediately below)

SHELL RESERVES FRAUD

SIR PHILIP WATTS, THE GROUP CHAIRMAN OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP, FORCED TO RESIGN IN 2004

Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves. US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits.Sir Philip Watts
and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal) were among the Shell executives forced to resign. More details at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: The Shell reserves scandal brought about
the end of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in its original form as an Anglo-Dutch partnership.
Shell Transport & Trading Co and Royal Dutch Petroleum were unified into a single Dutch owned company - Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Sir Philip turned to religion and is now a very wealthy priest after receiving a payoff/pension package from Shell reportedly worth $18.5 million. Walter van de Vijver in contrast was the victim of a sadistic sacking by his Shell senior management backstabbing colleagues.

by John Donovan

Displayed below are some of the spectacular promotional campaigns my company Don Marketing created for Shell in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before the series of SIX high court actions we brought against Shell for stealing ideas (4) and for defamation (2) - all settled by Shell. This website is a permanent response by me to the malicious underhand tactics, including treachery, espionage and intimidation, used by Shell during and after the bouts of litigation. More information is printed at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.

SHELL CONTROVERSIES

selection of memorable warnings/articles/images associated with the controversial track record of Royal Dutch Shell.

WARNING: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDEAS TO SHELL GameChanger OR SHELL Ideas360 WITHOUT TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION. Shell management has ample funds to pay for intellectual property but prefers to steal it from small businesses and in our experience, gives its full backing to dishonest managers willing to do its bidding. We have sued Shell repeatedly in the High Court for the theft of our Intellectual Property. It is doubtful if anyone can match our dire experience in dealing with this ruthless unscrupulous serial poacher of other parties ideas. Expect threats, legal machinations and sinister action from Shell and its spooks if you object to having your ideas stolen.

Some years ago extensive documentary evidence was brought to the attention of Malcolm Brinded above, when he was Chairman of Shell UK, proving beyond any doubt that Shell executives had conspired to rig a tender for a major contract. A number of innocent firms were deliberately lured into signing confidentiality agreements and disclosing Intellectual Property to Shell under false pretences, in a carefully contrived plot. The firm which was awarded the contract never took part in the tender. One objective of the Machiavellian plan was to stop/delay IP trade secrets owned by the participants in the tender from being disclosed to Shell's rivals. This was achieved by outright deception, without paying a cent to the firms involved, who wrongly believed they were participating in an honest tender. Instead of sacking the ring leader, AJL - who had a personal relationship with the firm which miraculously won the race in which it never ran - Shell senior directors, including Brinded, gave AJL their full backing. Some of the Shell executives involved, including for example, Tim Hannagan, still hold high positions inside Shell - in his case, Global Brand and Visual Identity Manager. If Shell does not accept that this is a true, provable account of what happened, then it should sue for libel. How on earth is such predatory conduct compatible with Shell's claimed business principles?